June 5, 2021
Jim Evancho
The Anniston Police Department’s Chief of Police, Nick Bowles, announced on Friday that the department has hired a new officer for their agency. Tito, the one and a half year old German Shorthaired Pointer K-9, was officially sworn in as a police K-9 and assigned to his new permanent partner, Corporal Robert Quinn. The two will be patrolling the City of Anniston as they work with the other members of the street crimes unit.
Tito and Cpl. Quinn were first introduced at the Vapor Wake K-9 School located here in Anniston after the department approved the unit to be restarted after the 2012 retirement of their previous K-9. The trainers at Vapor Wake K-9 asked what the Anniston Police Department was looking for in a working dog and then played matchmaker with Tito and Cpl. Quinn. The Corporal told the Calhoun County Journal that “Tito has a great personality and we are able to interact very well” which is extremely important between a K9 and Handler. Tito and Cpl. Quinn began training together at the school until they were well-connected and had a better understanding of each each other.
It was almost a done deal but there was still one more hurdle for Tito to become partnered with Cpl. Quinn; he had to meet the wife and family first. Being a K9 officer is very different than an officer not assigned to a permanent partner. When a regular officer is off duty they do not take their partner home to live with them every day. Cpl. Quinn advised that his wife and family are 100% behind Tito, and they have already begun to meld as a family. Tito enjoys his off duty time by playing with the kids and being interactive with everyone in the family.
The Anniston Police Department has also outfitted one of their vehicles as a K9 Unit. This vehicle is specially equipped to accommodate a four legged officer and has some unique features that are designed to protect the dog. The K9 vehicle has sensors inside to detect if the heat in the vehicle begins to rise and become dangerous to the K9. This can happen if the vehicle engine fails or the air conditioner stops working. If the sensor is activated, the emergency lights will be turned on and the siren will start to blare to alert the human part of the team that a problem has occurred in the vehicle. At the same time Cpl. Quinn will be notified by a special pager that will begin to vibrate and emit a loud sound to get the officer’s attention. The K9 vehicle also has a built-in cage that allows the dog to move around without being confined to a tight crate during a shift. The Anniston Police Department also issued a statement that “Tito’s purchase, training, and vehicle equipment was made possible by the City of Anniston and the Anniston Police Foundation.” The Anniston Police Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that raises funds so the agency can continue to improve their relationship with the community.
Cpl. Quinn and Tito are assigned to the Street Crimes Unit which works to identify drug activity, execute warrants, and respond to violent crimes, and gun crimes. They are not limited to one patrol zone, but cover the entire city during their respected shifts. Tito adds to the tools that the Street Crimes Unit utilizes, as he is a trained narcotics dog. This training allows the K9 to assist his team in locating dangerous drugs that criminals may be trying to hide. In addition to narcotics training, Tito is also trained to track offenders that attempt to run away from the police when the officers try to stop them. So even if the offender is able to get out of sight of human officers, Tito will still be able to find them. Being a part of this special unit also has some possible inconveniences, as Tito and Cpl. Quinn could be off duty and spending time with the family and then called into work to help find a dangerous person that is running from Anniston officers. Cpl. Quinn stated that it is his “privilege to be available to help keep Anniston safe.”
